Many of Bangkok’s wage earners escape the grind of answering phones and serving drinks by loading into garishly coloured coaches that blast Thai pop music while pulling up to Cha-am Beach for a day or two of leisure. Their merrymaking doesn’t waste a minute, as some tours budget only half a day of beach time before heading home or perhaps popping over to Phetchaburi for a whirlwind spin through the temples and palaces.
From Saturday morning to Sunday mid-afternoon, festive crowds of Thais dig into seafood, iced beer and whiskey around deckchairs set in neat rows beneath the casuarina trees that line the beach. Often the bravest (or drunkest) of them test out their English skills by inviting passing foreigners to join them for a beer or three. By Monday Cha-am empties out as room rates fall and some businesses close.
With coarse tan and off-grey sand tapering into murky brown-blue water, Cha-am Beach is no better than average as far as Thai mainland beaches go. Erosion has affected the southern stretch, where the water washes straight up to a rocky break wall at high tide. It gets better to the north, where the best patch of sand across from the Methavalai Hotel stays wide enough for a Frisbee toss no matter ... Travelfish members only (Full text is around 700 words.)
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